Chimney jig



Sept. 7, 17954 E. F. CADORETTE 2,688,512

CHIMNEY JIG Filed June 5, 1952 Fig] INVENTOR. EUDGRE EGADORETTE mu i ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 7, 1954 CHIMNEY J IG Eudora F. Cadorette, Boothwyn, Pa., assignor to Sun Oil Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 5, 1952, Serial No. 292,006

1 Claim.

This invention relates to jigs and more particularly to a jig for positioning bubble cap chimneys for assembly with bubble cap trays.

It has commonly been the practice in assembling, maintaining and repairing bubble cap trays in fractionating towers to work from both the top and bottom of the tray. The chimney was held from above in the tray aperture and tack welded and then tooled into place by the workman operating underneath. The confined working space with limited ventilation made the operation both tedious and hazardous. The necessity of making the chimney fit snugly to support the bubble cap and prevent leaks required the work, to be done well. It is an object of this patent to disclose a jig which will simplify the installation of bubble cap chimneys and reduce the dangers by permitting the complete operation to be accomplished from the upper side of the tray.

Another object is to permit the installation of bubble cap chimneys to be accomplished by one person in place of two or more as previously required.

The foregoing and other objects will become apparent after referring to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is an elevational view in section of the device; and

Figure 2 is a plan View of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numeral Iii indicates the body of the jig. The body It! is shown here as cylindrical in shape, but it is evident that any shape chimney blank may be used and the jig body fashioned to accommodate it. The chimney blank is referred to as being a chimney in this disclosure but does not actually become such until it is positioned for the purpose on the bubble cap tray. An inwardly extending flange l2 apertured as at I4 to expose the complete chimney passageway forms a stopping means to regulate the depth at which the chimney may be seated.

In the chimney blank engaging Walls of the body H3, longitudinally extending slots lS-IS admit the engaging ends Iii-l8 of the pivotally supported bell crank arms 26-29. Sets of ears 22-22 are fixed on each side of their respective slots i i-l6 to support the bell crank arms 2il-2ii by the pivot pins 2 24. The operating ends 26-126 of the bell crank arms 20-20 as distinguished from the engaging ends l8-I8 are angled with the engaging ends and set back from the pivots 24-24 to clear the area above the chimney blank passageway for the insertion and operation of tools.

Figure 1 shows atypical chimney blank in dot and dash lines engaging a similarly represented tray. In this illustration the chimney is shown rolled into engagement and represents the condition as it will appear at the close of the operation. This dot and dash representation has been omitted from Figure 2 where the view is taken from the bottom of the jig looking upward showing the operating parts in full line;

Returning now to Figure 1, the gripping arms 20 are shown angled as at 28 on the engaging end 18 to permit easy insertion of the chimney blank when the operating ends 26-26 are held close together above the body ID. This permits easy handling by the operator. It does not limit the device to this form, however, as these arms may be angled similarly on the lower side permitting ready insertion of the chimney blank with the arms in either extreme position. The outstanding feature of this combination is that these arms are clear of the passageway through I the chimney when the blank is being held in position for ease in operating necessary tools through the chimney passageway from above.

In the lower portion of the body Ill, evidenced in both Figures 1 and 2, additional clearance as at 30 is machined. It will be readily apparent to those versed in the art that this clearance will prevent binding when the chimney is fastened in place.

From the above disclosure and description of the elements and their cooperation, the operation of the jig will be fully understood. However, to fully disclose the flexibility of the device and emphasize the improvement of installation afforded by the device over known methods, the operation will be described.

The chimney blank can either be inserted in the body It of the jig by the operator with one hand as he holds the arms 20 together, or it can be picked up from the tray surface by sliding the body down over the blank. In either case the blank is held at the right depth and in proper position by moving the operating portion 26 of the arms 26 outwardly away from the chimney opening. If the arms have been moved downwardly to the extreme position and raised to grasp the chimney blank, the blank will still be held securely in proper position while the arms will be prevented from interfering with the passageway through the chimney.

With the chimney blank now held securely in the jig, the projecting lower end is inserted in the hole made to receive it in the supporting tray. An expander is passed downwardly from above through the chimney opening and the lower end of the chimney blank tooled into sealing contact. Reverse movement of the bell crank arms from the holding position releases the jig and it is ready for a repeat operation.

Where chimneys of difierent lengths but of uniform diameter are used on the same tray, the disclosed device is operable without modification. The simple addition of a collar, grooved to engage the bottom face of the jig and machined to the clearance diameter, will add height to the device and hold the longer chimney. Collars of various thicknesses can be used to meet all requirements for the chimneys of different lengths.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific form illustrated and described but is actually defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A jig for positioning a bubble cap chimney for fastening to a supporting tray comprising a chimney receiving body having a diameter adapted to provide a sliding fit with the chimney and open at both ends to allow access thereto from the top but at its upper end being inwardly flanged to limit the extent of movement of the jig relative to the chimney in the application of one to the other, the jig body having opable toward each other to withdraw the free ends of the short arms outside the inner wall of the jig without withdrawing them wholly from the slots and being swingable away from each other to project the free ends of the short arms into holding engagement with the outer wall of the chimney, the lower end portion of the jig being arcuately grooved to avoid sticking of the jig to the chimney when the long arms of the bell crank are moved toward each other to release pressure of .theshort arms upon the chimney prior to the withdrawal of the jig from the chimney.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 882,796 Pedigo Mar. 24, 1908 2,160,891 Nefi June 6, 1939 

